Racine's state Senate race still close to call

Jun. 6, 2012

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Written by

TODD RICHMOND

The Associated Press

MADISON — The recall race that will determine whether Democrats gain control of the Wisconsin state Senate or Gov. Scott Walker's fellow Republicans retain control of the full Legislature was too close to call Wednesday and appeared likely to remain that way for days.

Unofficial returns from Tuesday's election in Racine's 21st Senate District showed Democratic challenger John Lehman leading incumbent Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard by less than 800 votes with all precincts reporting. Democrats needed Lehman to win to gain a one-seat majority in the Senate and save at least some face after Republicans easily turned back five other recall bids.

Lehman, who held the seat until Wanggaard defeated him in 2010, was quick to declare the grudge match a victory. Democratic Senate Leader Mark Miller, meanwhile, issued a statement declaring himself the new majority leader.

"We have won, yeah," Lehman said Wednesday. "We're happy to have prevailed."

Wanggaard would not concede. He said in statement about midday Wednesday that his supporters have been pressing him to ask to ask for a recount, but he stopped short of saying he would do so. He said the race was plagued by what he called "voting irregularities" but he wanted to wait until county officials complete their official vote tally before making a move. That count is expected to begin Tuesday.

"We will closely monitor the canvass of votes with legal representation," Wanggaard said. "We all know that the best decisions are made when well-rested and after consideration of all options."

Any candidate can request a recount in Wisconsin within three business days of counties finalizing their vote tally, but they must supply a reason and possibly pay for all or part of it depending on the margin of defeat.

Republicans have controlled both the Senate and the state Assembly since Walker took office in January 2011. The governor and his allies in the Legislature used their powers to pass a host of contentious policies, including a plan stripping most public workers of nearly all their union rights, which Walker said was needed to help fix a huge budget deficit.

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Left fuming on the sidelines, Democrats and their allies ousted two GOP senators in recall elections last summer. Over the winter they gathered more than enough signatures from the public to force Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and four more GOP senators, including Wanggaard, into Tuesday's recalls.

One of the four senators, Pam Galloway of Wausau, quit her post ahead of the elections rather than campaign. Her resignation left the Senate divided evenly between Republicans and Democrats, 16-16, and gave Democrats hope of taking the chamber back. All three incumbents had to hold their seats and a Republican had to win Galloway's open seat to give Republicans the majority; Democrats, on the other handed, needed to win just one seat.

But the GOP pushed back. Hard. Walker bested his opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett; Kleefisch stopped her challenger, Mahlon Mitchell; and the momentum trickled down to the Senate races.

That left Lehman as Democrats' last hope to retake the Senate and salvage some semblance of pride. In a practical sense, though, it might not matter much who controls the Senate, at least for now.

Republicans still control the governor's office and the Assembly. That means if Democrats get the Senate, state government would plunge into gridlock. But the Legislature isn't scheduled to convene again until January, and whoever wins the majority in the recalls will have to defend it before then in the November election.

If Republicans win the chamber, it's possible Walker might call a special session to take another stab at passing a bill to jumpstart iron mining in the state, but that looks difficult after the legislation failed to make it out of the Senate this spring even with a Republican majority.